Prodded by DIY crosswalk, DOT puts one on The Avenue
Above: A new crosswalk at 36th and Elmstreets, put in by the city – after irritated Hampden-ites painted their own.
Score one for Hampden’s plucky, pugnacious citizen street improvers.
Less than a week after Lou Catelli and Deborah Patterson of ARTblocks painted their own crosswalks at the intersection of W. 36th and Elm streets, a city Department of Transportation crew came in yesterday and did the job officially.
The guerrilla public works crew, irked by what they said was months of inaction by the city on citizen requests for crosswalks, had spray-painted their own crossing lines on Elm and the busy “Avenue” last week, using a striping tool and paint from the nearby hardware store.
“Here is a pic of our new crosswalks, compliments of yours truly and Baltimore DOT!” wrote Catelli, in the email he sent with the jpeg of Patterson’s photo triumphantly attached.